Spinal traction-chair



E. E. HOSMER.

SPINAL TRACTION CHAIR. APPLICATION man OCT-8,1919.

1,356,3 5, I Patented Oct. 19,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

WIT/V 88 8 "I 5% flm/A/m 1% i 1 A TTORNEYS E. E. HOSMER.

SPINAL TRACTION CHAIR. APPLlCATlON FlLED pens, 1919.

1,356,365- Patented Oct. 19, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

INVENTOR 34 TTORNEY8 ing relative movement, which in the form UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD vnnnrrrros'iwna, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

SPINAL TRACTION-CHAIR.

Specification of Letters latent. Patented Oct. 19, 1920.

Application filed October 8, 1919. Serial No. 329,284.

and improved surgical chair, and more specifically to a chair known as aspinal traction chair which is particularly adapted to selectivelystretch or extend different portions of the spine to separate thevertebra.-

One of the objects of this invention isto provide a spinal tractionchair of "simple and rugged construction having adjustable devicesthereon which may be selectively applied'or adjusted to various portionsof the body and head and a means of obtaining relative movement betweensaid devices and the seat of the chair, so that diiierent portions ofthe spine may be stretched.

A further object of this invention is to provide a chair havingrelatively few parts, and which is inexpensive to manufacture, which maybe used by the practitioner without the necessity of the person operatedupon having to first make preliminary operations before use. p

A further object of this invention is to provide a device havingadjustable means associated therewith which'maybe adjusted and appliedto different parts of the person while occupying a sitting position,together with a means for mechanically actuating said device so as tostretch various portions of the spine, to separate the vertebra.

More specifically, one of the objects of this invention is to provide aspinal traction chair having a seat, a relatively movable back, and ameans adjustable on a back, and a plurality of devices verticallyadjustable 011 the back to diflferent portions of the body and head sothat by relative movement'between the seat and back, different portionsof the spine may be stretched or exercised at will.

In the practical embodiment of the invention shown, the devicecomprises'a chair having a seat, a relatively movable standard extendingupwardly from the back of the chair, and a suitable connection forobtainshown comprises a rack and pinion, a pawl being provided for therack to hold the parts in any given position, and a handle beingprovided for actuating the pinion A plurality of devices are adjustableon the standard, said device including an adjustable head support, anadjustable chin support, and an adjustable body support, each of'whichare adjustable vertically, and to conform to body and headcharacteristics of persons. I

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription and the accompanying drawings.

Similar characters and references designate like partsin the severalviews.

In the drawings showing bodiment of the invention;

Figure 1 is a front elevation view; I

Fig. 2 is a side elevation view. I

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing in detail itahe head rest showing thestandard in see- Fig. 4 is a detailed plan view of the head and chinsupport, showing the standard in sectlon. i

Fig. 5 is a detailed plan view of the body support, showing the standardin section.

Fig. 6 is a detailed side view of the chin rest or support, showinga'fragment of the arm.

Fig. 7 is a detailed plan view of the chin rest showing a fragment ofthe arm.

In the drawings showing a practical embodiment of the spinal tractionchair, the invention is shown as comprising a seat 1, which may be ofany suitable kind, andlegs 2 for the seat. A. relatively movablestandard 3 is shown extending upwardly from one side A of the seat, asuitable frame 5 in any suitable manner to rotate the same;

A body supporting means comprising a a practical emplurality of arms 13and 14 pivotally connected to the slide 15 vertically'adjustable on thestandard 3, is provided to support that portion of the body between thetrunk and the shoulders. In the form shown, the arms 13 and 14 areslightly curved, to conform to the lines of the body, and are pivotallyconnected at one end with the slide 15 which slide is provided withforked ends 16 into which one end of the arm extends, a pin 17 or othersuitable means extending therethrough to properly position the arms. Theslide 15 may be adjustably positioned on the standard 3 by any suitablemeans, but in the form shown a screw 18 having a handle 19 is provided.By providing the adjustable body support, any portion of the spine, fromthe shoulders down, may be stretched, or exercised, by proper adjustmentof the body support and manipulation of the actuating means producingrelative movement between the standard and the seat. The arms 13 and 14may be provided with any suitable covering 13' and 14. i

As a means of providing a support for the head, and for holding the headin any desired position, a plurality of devices are provided which areadjustably supported on the standard 3 the said device including a chinrest and a head rest, each of which are independently adjustable on thestandard. The chin rest comprises a slide 20 having arms 21 and 22pivotally connected therewith. As a means of readily and conven ientlysupporting the head at the chin, chin plates 23 and 24 are pivotallysupported at one end of the rods 25 and 26 so that the said plates mayrevolve in a horizontal plane, the said rods in turn being rotatablysupported in sleeves 27 and 28 arranged at the outer end of the arms 21and 22 res 38C- tively. The rotary movement of the plungers is limitedby a pin 29 passing through one end of the plunger, the end of the pinextending outward from the said plunger, and limiting the movementthereof by 0011- tacting with the sides of a slot 30 formed in the endof the sleeve. The chin plates 23 and 24 may be of any suitable form,and composed of any suitable material. form shown, they comprise a pieceof angle iron bent and cut to a form to accommodate the chin. One end 31of the plate is split so as to prevent the corners thereof from pressingon the throat. If desired, a cushion 32 made of any suitable materialmay be arranged on the chin plates. It is thus seen that the chin platesare adjustable in a hori- Zontal plane and a vertical plane 'so thatthey are readily adjusted to diii'erent positions. If after the arms 21and 22 and the chin plates 23 and 24 have been adjusted to their properpositionon a person, it is desirable to maintain them in such aposition, so for this purpose there is provided a means In the ofholding the pivotal connected arms 21 and 22 in the adjusted position.In the form shown, this is accomplished by providing a fastening meansbetween the arms 21 and 22 and the slide 20. In the form shown, the armsare provided with anextended portion 33 having a slot 34 therein, andthe slide is provided with a lug 35 having a slot 36 therein. A bolt 37extends through the slots 34 and 36, and is provided with a center nut38 so that by tightening the wing nut, the arms 21 and 22 may be held inany given position. It is understood however that any suitable means maybe provided for fixing the position of the arms. The slide 20 may beheld in a vertically adjusted position on the standard 3 by a meanssimilar to that provided for the body slide 15, by such for instance asa screw 39 and handle 40.

After the chin support has been properly adjusted to screw the properdistance between the seat and the chin for a particular person, .it isthen desirable to provide a means for holding the head in any desiredposition or at a certain angle. 'For this purpose, there is provided ahead support comprising the slide 41 vertically adjustable on thestandard 3 and held in any given position by a screw and handle 42 orother suitable means. As a means of providing a comfortable support orrest for the head, and to hold the head in any position desired, a cupor U-shaped member 43 is provided, having a flexible covering 44extending 100 across the open side thereof the said covering beingconnected to the sides by lacing 45 or in any other suitable manner. Inorder to effect a forward or backward movement of the head, horizontaladjustment of 105 the head rest is effected by providing rods 46connected to the head rest, and guided in openings formed in theslidel41. Any suitable means such as a thumb screw 47 may be provided tohold the head rest in properly 110 adjusted position relative to theslide 41. It is to be understood that any suitable construction may beprovided for the head rest so long as the proper provision is made forproper adjustment thereof.

In operation, the head support and the body support may be used eitherseparately or together to separate the vertebra of the spine from thehead or shoulders downward. It is thus seen that the device may be ap-120 plied to selectively stretch diiferent portions of the spine.

Particular advantage of a chair of this character is that a person maybe operated upon to stretch or exercise various portions 125 of thespine to stimulate circulation, with the clothing in position.

While but one practical embodiment of the invention has been shownherein, it is understood that various changes and modifi- 130 cationsmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of thisinvention.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, a chair comprising a seat, avertically movable standard at one side of the same, means arrangedbetween the seat and the standard for effecting relative movementtherebetween, an adjustable body supporting means connected to saidstandard, an adjustable head supporting means carried by the standardand universally adjustable chin supporting means carried by thestandard.

2. A spinal traction chair comprising a seat, a standard extendingupwardly therefrom, means arranged between the seat and the standard foreffecting relative movement therebetween, and adjustable head and bodysupporting means connected to said standard whereby the spine may bestretched by the actuating means arranged between the seat and thestandard.

3. A spinal traction chair comprising a seat, a standard extendingupwardly therefrom, actuating means arranged on the seat and adapted toco-act with the standard for effecting relative vertical movementtherebetween, and body supporting means vertically adjustable on thestandard whereby different portions of the spine may be stretched bymovement of the actuating means.

i. A spinal traction chair comprising a seat, an independently movablestandard extending upwardly therefrom, means arranged on the seat andadapted to co-act with the standard for effecting relative movementtherebetween, said means including a rack and pinion connection, and aplurality of devices vertically adjustable on the standard forsupporting different portions of the body.

A spinal traction chair comprising a seat. an independently movablestandard extending upwardly therefrom, means arranged therebetween foreffecting relative movement between the seat and the standard, saidmeans including a rack and pinion connection, and a plurality of devicesvertically adjustable on the standardfor sup- 5 porting differentportions of the body, said means including a body support comprising aplurality of arms, and a head support comprising a plurality of arms,and a chin rest for each arm.

6. A device of the character described comprising a seat, a relativelymovable standard extending upwardly therefrom, an actuating meansarranged therebetween, a head supporting means adjustable with respectto the standard, and a universally adjustable chin supporting meanscarried by said standard, whereby a person when seated in the chair withthe head and chin supporting means properly adjusted may be treated bythe separation of the vertebra upon movement of the actuating means.

7. A spinal traction chair, comprising a seat, an independently movablesupport or standard extending upwardly therefrom, an actuating meansincluding a rack and pinion connection, and a handle for the rackarranged between the seat and the standard, a body supporting meansadjustable on the standard, a plurality of devices including a body anda head supporting means adjustably mounted on the standard wherebydifierent portions of the spine may be selectively stretched.

8. A spinal traction chair comprising a seat, a relatively movablestandard extending upwardly from one side of the seat, a rack on thestandard, a supporting frame connected to the seat, and functioning as aguide for the standard, a pinion rotatably mounted on said frame, andengaging the rack. a handle for said pinion, and a pawl for holding thepinion in any predetermined position, a body support adjustable on thestandard, comprising a plurality of-pivoted arms, a head supportadjustable on the standard, comprising a plurality of pivoted arms, anda chin rest adjustable on'each arm. A

9. A spinal traction chair comprising a seat, an independently movablestandard, a frame connected to the seat, and functioning as a guide forthe standard, an actuating means carried by the frame, said meansincluding a pinion, a rack carried by the standard, and engaging saidpinion, a means engaging the pinion for holding the standard in anypredetermined position, an adjustable head rest carried by the standard,means for retaining said head rest in its adjusted positions, anduniversally adjustable chin supporting means carried by said standardand co-acting with the head rest to provide means for properlysupporting the head in various positions whereby upon movement of theactuating means a stretch ing of the spine and separation of thevertebra will be effected.

10. A spinal traction chair comprising a seat, a relatively movablestandard extending upwardly from one side of said seat,

supporting means carried by the seat for holding the standard inproperly adjusted relative position thereto, actuating means arrangedbetween the standard and the seat for adjusting the same, an adjustablehead supporting means carried by the standard, said means including ahead rest and a universally adjustable chin rest, and means for retaining the chin and head rests in their adjusted positions, wherebyupon movement of the actuating means a stretching of the spine andseparation of the, vertebra is effected.

EDWARD EVERETT HOSMER.

